Lesson for the Lord’s Day
Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 1 Timothy 4:13
Some young Christians I know have wondered what God’s purpose is for their life. If only, they say, we had a formula we could follow to discover that purpose. I am sure it is a question and a desire that is common to many other sincere young Christians, and others not quite so young, because I can remember going through the same process myself. Does the Bible contain a formula you and I can use that will help us determine how we should live before our Lord? Today’s text comes as close as any that I have found to such a formula.
Paul has written his first letter to Timothy in the hopes that he will be set free from prison and will be able to travel to Ephesus to visit his dear friend and protege. Until he arrives, he urges Timothy to give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. You and I are not waiting for Paul’s arrival. But there is Another Who has promised to come. And unlike Paul, who never made it back to Ephesus, the return of the Lord Jesus to take us with Himself to heaven is certain and imminent. It is in light of that promise and expectation that we are to occupy ourselves in this world. That glorious expectation will keep us ready, waiting, working, and watching until He arrives.
The second element in our Christian success formula is reading the Word of God. In conjunction with prayer, no activity of life is more important for us. Nowhere else will we truly learn about our God and His character. Nowhere else will we feed on the purposes and programs of God. Nowhere else will we find God’s will for us presented and explained. Daily reading of the Word of God will feed us and build us up in our most holy faith. The last two elements of our Christian success formula flow from this one, the reading of the Scriptures.
We will find, as we read, and as we listen to the teaching of Godly men, and as we heed the example and instruction of godly men and women, that God has a pattern that we need to follow in holy living. We will learn how we should conduct ourselves before the world and in the Assembly. We will learn that we should busy ourselves in the furtherance of the Gospel and in the edification of the saints. We will learn that God truly does desire that we give attendance to the exhortation that He has provided for us.
God also desires that we would know of the doctrines that are contained in His Word. One of the reasons why Luke wrote his Gospel was that his friend Theophilus would know the surety of those things most surely believed among us (Luke 1:1). The great truths of the Word of God are ours to learn and explore, despite their being hidden from the wise of this world. Under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit, these great doctrines are ours to know. And we must learn them if we are to succeed in our Christian lives.
So yes, there is a formula to knowing and living God’s will for us: Expecting His return, reading His Word, following His exhortation, and learning His doctrine. -Jim MacIntosh